Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) has stated the volume of fish exports grew by 55% in annual terms in 2017. The volume of fish exports grew by 55% in annual terms and amounted to 72,000 metric tonnes during 2017, according to the annual report 2017 of MMA.
The growth was largely propelled by a rise in the export volumes of frozen skipjack and frozen yellowfin tuna. A significant increase in export volumes of canned or pouched tuna also contributed to higher fish export volume in 2017.
Following a positive turnaround in 2016, the fisheries sector was observed to have further strengthened during 2017 as indicated by the impressive growth of fish purchases by fish processing companies and the increase in volume of fish exports.
Fish purchases registered a remarkable growth of 42% in annual terms and amounted to 76.6 thousand metric tonnes in 2017. The increase was largely driven by a significant rise in skipjack tuna purchases, coupled with moderate growth in yellowfin tuna purchases. Skipjack and yellowfin tuna collectively accounted for the bulk of purchases, which is about 98% of total purchases, made by fish processing companies. It is noteworthy the share of bigeye tuna, a high-value fish, was observed to have fallen during the past two years.
The overall trend of fish purchases throughout the year was observed to follow the typical trend, with purchases declining around mid-year. This can be attributed to a decline in fishing activity because of monsoonal rains during this period.
With respect to price developments in the domestic tuna market, the local fish processing companies maintained their purchasing price for both fresh and iced skipjack tuna during the first half of the year and revised their prices upwards during the latter half for the first time since July 2014.
This was roughly in line with skipjack tuna prices in the international market, which followed an upward trend from the second quarter of the year until October 2017. Yellowfin tuna prices remained relatively volatile throughout the year, starting at USD 4.35 per kilogram in January 2017 and closing at a lower price of USD 4.03 per kilogram in December 2017. The upsurge in the volume of fish exports during the year also pointed towards the strong performance of the fisheries sector.